Indian doctor arrested after foetuses found in Gujarat
India banned gender selection and selective abortion in 1994
Police in the western Indian state of Gujarat have arrested a doctor after 14 human foetuses were found in rubbish.
The gynaecologist owned a clinic in the city of Ahmedabad where abortions were conducted over more than two decades.
Police say he has admitted dumping the foetuses after they were damaged while he moved his clinic to a new building.
The doctor maintains the foetuses were legally aborted and did not follow illegal sex determination tests. The bodies have been sent for post-mortems.
Authorities said on Monday they suspected the foetuses may have been aborted because they were girls rather than boys, who have traditionally been favoured in India.
'Public nuisance'
The doctor told police and public health officials that the foetuses were of babies legally aborted due to congenital abnormalities, and that they had been preserved in his clinic for about six years, the BBC's Rathin Das reports from Ahmedabad.
Police say they have charged the doctor with causing a public nuisance by not properly disposing of bio-medical waste, our correspondent reports.
Authorities say they are waiting for the post-mortem results to find out whether the doctor is telling the truth.
The foetuses were found in the east of the city on Monday morning. Some were in broken jars.
Female foeticide has led to an unbalanced sex ratio in many northern districts of Gujarat, and in other states in India.
Ante-natal tests to determine the sex of babies is banned in India but the practice carries on despite the law.
It is thought millions of female foetuses may have been aborted in India over the past 20 years.
BBC News - Indian doctor arrested after foetuses found in Gujarat
India banned gender selection and selective abortion in 1994
Police in the western Indian state of Gujarat have arrested a doctor after 14 human foetuses were found in rubbish.
The gynaecologist owned a clinic in the city of Ahmedabad where abortions were conducted over more than two decades.
Police say he has admitted dumping the foetuses after they were damaged while he moved his clinic to a new building.
The doctor maintains the foetuses were legally aborted and did not follow illegal sex determination tests. The bodies have been sent for post-mortems.
Authorities said on Monday they suspected the foetuses may have been aborted because they were girls rather than boys, who have traditionally been favoured in India.
'Public nuisance'
The doctor told police and public health officials that the foetuses were of babies legally aborted due to congenital abnormalities, and that they had been preserved in his clinic for about six years, the BBC's Rathin Das reports from Ahmedabad.
Police say they have charged the doctor with causing a public nuisance by not properly disposing of bio-medical waste, our correspondent reports.
Authorities say they are waiting for the post-mortem results to find out whether the doctor is telling the truth.
The foetuses were found in the east of the city on Monday morning. Some were in broken jars.
Female foeticide has led to an unbalanced sex ratio in many northern districts of Gujarat, and in other states in India.
Ante-natal tests to determine the sex of babies is banned in India but the practice carries on despite the law.
It is thought millions of female foetuses may have been aborted in India over the past 20 years.
BBC News - Indian doctor arrested after foetuses found in Gujarat